Rail anchor



April 4, 1950 A. M. WELLS 2,503,229

RAIL ANCHOR Filed March 20, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ARTHUR MILTON WELS m BY I.

ATTORNEYS.

April 4, 1950 A. M. WELLS 2,503,229

RAIL ANCHOR Filed March 20, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet? Patented Apr. 4, 1950 RAIL ANCHOR Arthur Milton Wells, Webster Groves, M0., as-

signor to Achuif Railway .Supply Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application March 20, 1947, Serial No. 736,056

4 Claims. (Cl. 3338-330) fI his invention relates generally to rail anchors such as are employed for restraining the tendency of railway rails to creep relative to the cross ties.

While rail anchors have heretofore been provided in a great variety, those hereto available have failed to overcome the tendency of the heaving ballast to loosen or dislocate the anchor.

The condition of the heaving ballast frequently occurs in railway roadbeds where, due to the forces of nature or otherwise, the ballast bed tends tomove upwardly relative to the cross ties.

.A comparable condition also exists where the 'roadbed has a tendency to pump if between strokes of the pumping there is dislocation of the ballast sufficient to obstruct movement of the anchor. The anchors heretofore provided have been either of a form which engaged the bot- .tom of the rail base between its edges, or have bieen'of such form, when free of engagement substantially centrally of the rail base, as to resolve .forces acting upwardly on the central portion of the anchor into a tendency to release or reduce the gripping action of the anchor on the rail. As a consequence of this, the anchor may momentarily lose its grip upon the rail and per unit creepage to take place.

Another serious disadvantage of many of the rail anchors heretofore vpopular has resided in the fact that no provision was made for readily and instantaneously releasing the anchor from the base of the rail when, .as in the case of derailments, a downward blow is struck against the anchor. Consequently it has frequently been :observed that, after a derailment, the portion of a rail whereat a rail anchor had engaged was torn away, with the result that the rail, or at least a portion thereof, had to be scrapped.

The object of the present invention, generally stated, is to provide a rail anchor of a character such as to maintain a firm grip upon a rail under normal conditions, but which nevertheless is readily released upon being struck with a defit cut invention, as installed upon a rail of a railway track;

Figure 2 is an end view of the anchor shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the mode of applying the anchor to the rail;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Figure 1 Figure .5 is a View in side elevation of aslightly modified form of anchor embodying the features of the invention;

Figure 6 is a view corresponding to Figure 4, but showing the anchor of the Figure 5 embodiment; and

Figure 7 is a view illustrating the forces applied to the anchor upon the occurrence of derailments.

In accordance with the present invention, generally stated, a rail anchor is formed of substantially square bar stock of a suitably strong :resilient metal, such as steel, so shaped as to'provide upwardly extending notched legs adapted to engage the opposite edges of a rail base, said notched portions being interconnected by a reentrantly curved bar, so that the completed anchor has the general configuration of the letter W when viewed lengthwise of the 'rail. The anchor is, however, spiral .so that, when installed, its lengthwise dimension "(crosswise the rail) is :out of perpendicular to the longitudinal axisof the rail. .By substantially square bar stock, as the expression is used herein, .it :is intended to connote that the width-toethickness ratio of :the stock shall be less than 2-to-1, but not .to prescribe round .or rounded cornerstock, nor is'it intended to limit :the invention to stock having strictly perpendicular sides.

The invention further contemplates that the notched legs be outwardly flared at their upper extremities so as to facilitate application and also provide for immediate release of the grip- ;gping engagement when a descending blow strikes thereon, as in the case of derailments, all with :out mutilating the edges of the rail base with which the anchor has been in engagement.

Referring .now ltO Figures '1 and 2 forean *illus trative embodiment ,of the invention, the anchor comprises upwardly extending side legs I and 2, each :having an interior notch v:3 and '4, respectively, adapted to engage :the edges of a rail'base .5. Extending between the side legs land 2 and integrally connecting the .same, the anchor sis .sinuously-curvedso as ,to provide valleys at ,6 and 1 with ;an intermediate .crestB. The :top :Df :the .crest ate-is, however,:substantially below thezlevel 3 of notches 3 and 4, which locate the plane of the bottom of rail base 5. The clearance afiorded between the top of the crest at 9 and the bottom of the rail base is sufficient to provide some amplitude of movement of the crest 8 upwardly relative to the rail base upon the exertion of an upward force upon the anchor, as might be occasioned by heaving ballast, With an anchor formed as shown, any upwardly acting force, regardless of its location transversely of the anchor, tends to collapse the anchor in a direction such as to increase the gripping force exerted at notches 3 and 4 upon the edges of the rail base. For example, an upward force exerted in the crotch of crest 8 will tend to move that portion of the anchor upwardly and at the same time draw in the side legs I and 2. The same result occurs when the upward force is exerted in the southeast quadrant of valley 6 or the southwest quadrant of valley I. An upward force exerted upon the southwest quadrant of valley 6, however, would tend to flex the side leg I inwardly and likewise anupward force upon the southeast quadrant of valley I would tend to flex the side leg 2 inwardly, thus in all cases tending to increase the gripping tension. On the other hand, if the top of crest 9 were in engagement with the rail base, an upwardly acting force, being incapable of moving the anchor relative to the rail, would tend to spread the crotch of crest 8, with the result that side legs I and 2 would tend to spread apart thus releasing, or at least reducing, their gripping force upon the edges of the rail base. The amount of clearance allowed between the top 9 of crest 8 and the bottom of the rail base may, of course, be

varied, depending upon the seriousness of the heaving ballast or comparable condition, but for ordinary purposes one-eighth of an inch is adequate to permit that amount of relative movement between the crest 8 and the rail base without abutment to achieve the result desired.

The configuration of the intermediate connecting portion of the anchor of the present invention, while of general sinuous shape, is not a true sine curve, but rather consists of three approximately complete semi-circular arcs, the inside radii of the curvature of which do not greatly depart from the radial dimension (thickness measured along any radius of the curve) of the bar stock from which the anchor is formed. For example, in the embodiment illustrated, the inside radius of ourvature of the valleys 6 and I is 1.25 times the radial dimension of the bar stock while the inside radius of curvature of crest 8 is .75 times the radial dimension of the bar stock. Since, in the embodiment illustrated, the center of curvature of the crest 8 lies below the centers of curvature of the valleys 6 and I, the respective arcs are slightly less'than 180 each. This condition is conducive to economy of material, but comparable results can be achieved if full semi-circular arcs are employed even with interconnecting tangent portions between them.

In the formation of the anchor of the present invention the notches 3 and 4 are preferably produced by a swaging or upsetting action, which does not actually remove any substance from the bar, but rather displaces the metal so as to form a reinforcing bulge adjacent to the respective notches, as indicated at In and II.

An important feature of the present invention consists in the arrangement of all that portion of the anchor which extends above the rail base so as to be outwardly flaring with respect to the rail. Thus the upper extremities of legs I and 2 are flared outwardly, as shown at I2 and I3. It is also to be observed that the legs I and 2 of the anchor do not extend vertically, but at a slight outwardly diverging angle to the vertical. This combination of features minimizes the possibility of rail damage upon derailments. By reference to Figure 7, it will be apparent that, regardless of whether a wheel leaves the track on the inside or the outside, the direction of the force imparted to the rail anchor upon being struck by a derailed wheel is such as to spread the legs I and 2 apart and accomplish release of the anchor from the rail base with a minimum of likelihood that chunks may be sheared from the rail flange. For example, if the wheel I4 leaves the rail on the inside, it will fall to position I4 and the direction of the force imparted to the leg 2 of the anchor will be indicated generally by the arrow I5 and received by the anchor at a point outwardly of the edge of the rail flange 5. The force indicated by the arrow I5 therefore produces a turning moment on the leg 2 and releases the anchor from the rail. The same is true if the wheel I4 jumps the rail to the outside, so as to assume the position indicated by the dotted lines at I4. In this instance, the direction of the force communicated to the anchor is indicated by the arrow I6 and, again, is located exteriorly of the edge of the rail flange, so that, again, a turning moment is created tending to release the anchor from engagement with the rail. Moreover, a derailed wheel, traveling along the track and encountering the upper extremity of one of the legs I or '2, will deliver a force to the anchor at a locus outwardly beyond the edge of the flange 5 and produce the same effect. Furthermore, the outflaring disposition of the extremities I2 and I3 facilitates intentional removal of the anchor from the rail. All that is necessary is to strike either of the outflaring extremities a blow with a sledge hammer and the anchor will snap out of engagement.

The anchor of the present invention is preferably formed on a spiral, as clearly shown in Figures 2, 4, and 6, so that, when in engagement with a rail, the anchor assumes a slightly angular position so that but one of the side legs thereof is in engagement with the tie. Consequently, the lengthwise dimension of the anchor is out of perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rail. This arrangement, together with the angularity of the slots 3 and 4, later to be described, contributes not only to the security of the clamping engagement with the rail, but also to the facility of application of the anchor.

As shown clearly in Figure 2, the slots 3 and 4 are out of parallel in the horizontal plane when the anchor is in its free (i. e., uninstalled) condition. The cant of the slots 3 and 4 relative to each other and to the body of the anchor is such that, to bring them into parallel relation (in which condition, or nearly so, they will be disposed when in engagement with the rail), it is necessary to increase the amount of spiral in the anchor. Such involves a twisting of the anchor from the position shown in full lines to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 2. Such twisting of the anchor during its installation may be readily accomplished by a simple tool, as shown in Figure 3. The tool consists of a long lever I'I having a nose I8 disposed to engage the anchor on the inside of one of the valleys 8 or I and a hook I9 for engaging the opposite upper extremity I3 or I2, respectively, as the case may be. To install the anchor, it may be slipped under the rail, as shown in Figure 3, and the notch 3 engaged with the near edge of the rail base 5. The tool I! may then be hooked over the extremity [2, so that the nose i8 engages below and inside the valley I. A downwardly directed force on the outer end of lever I! will thus force the leg 2 upwardly toward engagement with the flange of the rail. With the tool ll extending at right angles to the rail, the spiraling of the anchor, however, causes the area of engagement between nose [8 and the anchor at valley I to be eccentric (toward the front, as seen in Figure 3) and consequently a turning moment is produced, which tends to rotate the upper extremity 13 of leg 2 in a direction such as to bring the notch 4 toward parallel relation with notch 3, increasing the degree of spiral in the anchor. Such increase in spiral sets up a tension in the anchor tending to restore the notches 3 and 4 to their original non-parallel relation, and thereby creates a biting action of the notches upon the rail base. Any tendency for the rail to creep relative to the anchor increases the intensity of the biting action.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, the spiraling is accomplished by distorting the entire body of the anchor so that its longitudinal side line 23 is out of perpendicular to the line 2| constituting its width dimension. In this case, the notches 3 and G are of uniform depth. In the embodiment shown in Figures 5 and 6, however, the spiraling is accomplished in a slightly difierent manner and is confined entirely to the sinuously curved portion between the legs 51 and 52. In this instance, the notches 53 and 54 are of varying depth from side to side, as shown clearly in Figure 6, but otherwise the structure is identical with that previously described.

From the foregoing description those skilled in the art will readily understand the operation and advantages of the anchor herein disclosed. While in the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings, the preferred embodiment has been fully disclosed, it is not to be understood that the invention is limited strictly to the details thereof, but that such modifications and variations may be made as suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A single piece rail anchor comprising substantially square metallic bar stock formed to provide a sinuously curved intermediate portion consisting of two valleys and one crest, the internal radii of curvature of the valleys and crest being between .75 and 1.25 times the radial dimension of the bar stock, the outermost legs of the valleys being extended divergingly upward beyond the crest, and said legs each being provided with rail-flange-receiving-notches wholly disposed at a substantial distance above the crest, said notches being out of parallel relation with each other when said anchor is free and unstrained.

2. A single piece rail anchor comprising substantially square metallic bar stock formed to provide a sinuously curved intermediate portion consisting of two valleys and one crest, the internal radii of curvature of the valleys and crest being between .75 and 1.25 times the radial dimension of the bar stock, the outermost legs of the valleys being extended divergingly upward beyond the crest, said legs each being provided with rail-fiange-receiving-notches wholly disposed at a substantial distance above the crest, the extremities of said legs upwardly beyond said notches diverging outwardly at a greater angle than the diverging relation of said legs below the notches, said anchor being spiralled so as to offset the rail-flange-engagement-areas in a direc tion lengthwise of the rail, and said notches, when the anchor is free, being out of parallel relation in the direction requiring that the degree of spiral be increased in order to bring the notches into parallel relation.

3. The anchor defined in claim 2 in which the anchor is transversely spiralled to offset the legs longitudinally of the rail.

4. The anchor defined in claim 3 in which the notches of the respective legs are out of parallel in the direction which requires that the spiral be increased to bring them into parallel relation.

ARTHUR MILTON WELLS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,361,962 Cairncross Dec. 14, 1920 1,721,541 Achuff July 23, 1929 2,139,847 Palmer Dec. 13, 1938 Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,503,229 April 4, 1950 ARTHUR MILTON WELLS It is hereby certified that errors appear in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Column 1, line 6, for the word hereto read heretofore; column 6, line 35, for the claim reference numeral 2 read 1;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Ofiice.

Signed and sealed this 18th day of July, A. D. 1950.

[sun] JOE E. DANIELS,

Assistant Oommisse'oner of Patents. 

